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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26820004">smoke in the air</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansonrio/pseuds/sansonrio'>sansonrio</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Light Angst, One Shot, Toph Beifong &amp; Zuko Friendship, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, he does not appreciate being punched in the arm, toph gives zuko a chance, zuko very much appreciates it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:06:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26820004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansonrio/pseuds/sansonrio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko doesn't burn Toph.</p><p>or</p><p>"Why am I so bad at being good?" except it's a mental breakdown.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Toph Beifong &amp; Zuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>217</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>smoke in the air</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The girl stares at him, pale eyes reflecting the light between them. </p><p>He’d been dozing when she came but now sleep felt impossible, the air thrilled with energy; it must be late, with the moon high over their heads lighting the tips of the surrounding forest. </p><p>“You said you’re here to help,” she says, finally; not a question. </p><p>Zuko tenses, fists clenched at his sides; he wills the fire to dim with a deep breath. “I am.”</p><p>He feels flushed with anxiety, half turned towards his tent, the girl sitting cross-legged on the ground away from him. There’s a shuffling, and Zuko sees her fingers spread across the loose dirt beneath her palms. “I know.” She huffs a sigh, brows furrowed. “That’s why I’m here.”</p><p>Zuko doesn’t know what to say; knows even less what to do when the girl suddenly lays down, a sight of perfect calm with her arms behind her head. She says nothing else and he flounders, mouth gaping in his surprise. <i>This is… odd</i>, Zuko thinks. </p><p> He scrubs a tired hand across his face and moves to sit, limbs stiff, a small cloud of dust rising from the ground with the movement. Drawing his knees close, Zuko rests his chin in the space between his legs and tries to relax. Eventually, the soft glow of the flames lull him into a daze, edges around his vision blurring as he stares into the fire. The warm night air feels tight, buzzing, as a million thoughts race through his head. </p><p>It had been a disaster, his first meeting with the Avatar, and Zuko cringes at the memory. He’s not sure what he expected, though, having hunted the group for the better part of a year. It could have gone <i>worse</i>, he supposes– four against one. Yet, miraculously, here the girl sits, acting as though Zuko’s not a threat. He could be dead if she wanted –he’s <i>seen</i> her bend– and no one bursts from behind the forest’s edge, ready to strike like he’d initially thought. </p><p>Their silence draws on, Zuko lost in hesitation, the girl’s foot tapping a beat mingling with the crackling fire. Zuko closes his eyes, resigning himself to the conversation.</p><p>“The Avatar,” he starts, unsure, heart pounding as he gazes opposite the fire, “needs a fire bending master.” </p><p>Tapping stopped, the girl sits up onto her elbows. She cocks her head to the side, focus eerily zeroed in on Zuko. “Aang” – a beat – “He does.”</p><p>“Right. Aang.” Zuko frowns down at his feet. He knew that.</p><p>“I’m To–”</p><p>“I’m sorry it has to be me,” he says in a rush, wincing as the words spill from his mouth. Zuko braces himself, watching a brief flash of annoyance cross the girl’s face and expecting the ground to separate where he sits; waves of heat pour off the fire, each lick of flame rising higher with his breath, moving shadows across the line of trees that circle them.</p><p>“I’m not.” The girl flicks at the dirt, almost uninterested. She quirks an eyebrow as her hand hovers over a dip in the ground.  </p><p>The heavy pressure of frustration builds in Zuko’s chest. “You don’t <i>know</i> me.”</p><p>“No, I don’t.” She smirks. “But I’ve met your uncle.”</p><p>Zuko stills. <i>What?</i> </p><p>“He really loves you, you know. Wouldn’t stop <i>talking</i> about you.” </p><p>“<i>This isn’t about him</i>,” Zuko hisses, finding himself on his feet again; <i>he doesn’t need to hear this</i>. His breaths come in short puffs, a staccato to match the beat of his heart. “He– I–”</p><p>“Fucked up?” she throws out a hand, gesturing the camp around them. “That’s why you’re here, right?”</p><p>“<i>Yes</i>,” he answers immediately. “Of course.”</p><p>“So what <i>do</i> you want, then?”</p><p>The question throws Zuko off; his shoulders drop in confusion, him not even having noticed they were taut beside his neck. “Isn’t it… obvious?” </p><p>“Not as much as you think,” she says tightly. Zuko waits– for clarification or for something else, he’s not sure– but a minute passes, the girl’s mouth drawn in a thin line, silent. A breeze passes through the trees and Zuko shivers, chilled even beside the warmth of the fire. </p><p><i>One shot</i>, he thinks. He inhales deeply, shaky, his lungs trembling at the intensity of the moment.</p><p>“The Fire Lord needs to be stopped” Zuko breathes out, pressure slipping along with it “and if he isn’t, he’ll burn the world to ashes. This war needs to end, and the Avatar needs to be the one to do it.” He pauses. “But I think I can help.” </p><p>The world falls to a hush around him, blood rushing the only thing Zuko hears. He's admitted these things to himself, accepts the truth in them, yet his heart falters as the word <i>traitor</i> echoes in his mind. Distantly, he can feel the harsh rise and fall of his chest, almost heaving to take in oxygen. He wonders what a scene they make: the girl, with her hands pressed firmly into the ground, himself, surging with trepidation. </p><p>It hits him, then, when she turns away.</p><p>Zuko sags, sinking to the ground in a kneel. He feels heavy, heavy with the weight of his father’s actions, his own that played directly into the man’s hands, the air around him turning thick as if underwater. His own trial, he realizes, and <i>Agni</i>, he’s not innocent. The guilt, in the face of his once-enemy, is suddenly unbearable; he wishes he were alone. </p><p>Besides the quiet rustle of leaves and dying flames before him, neither make a sound for a long while. How long, Zuko can’t tell; for all he cares, it could be hours. </p><p>“Okay.” </p><p>Zuko blinks, eyes tired and slow, lifting his head from where he stared at the ground. He startles, the girl now standing before him with her arms crossed over her chest. Behind her, the fire is a pile of embers, leaving the clearing bathed in a deep red glow.</p><p>“I believe you,” she says, tilts her head, a quirk of her mouth into a small smile. “<i>They</i> might not, but… I do.” She sticks out her hand and Zuko holds back a flinch, confused. When he doesn’t move, the girl snorts, loud, “You ever gonna <i>shake it?</i>”</p><p>“Oh.” He feels dumb but takes the offered hand; it’s soft, smoother than he imagined an earthbender’s would be. “I’m Zuko.” </p><p>She barks a laugh, dropping to the space beside him. She seems to consider him for a moment, smirking, only giving Zuko a second to wonder why before punching him in the arm.</p><p>“Hey! What–”</p><p>“Toph,” she ignores him, nodding her head with a thumb pointing at her chest. “And <i>don’t you forget it</i>, Sparky.”</p><p>He rubs his arm, scowling. He– what?</p><p>“<i>Sparky?</i>”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm on tumblr, come say hi!: @rahshala</p></blockquote></div></div>
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